Strict But Fair
by badly-knitted
Summary: Bikky is gradually learning what he can and can't get away with now he lives with Ryo. Set early in Vol. 1, and written for fic promptly.


**Title:** Strict But Fair

 **Author:** badly-knitted

 **Characters:** Bikky, Ryo, OCs.

 **Rating:** G

 **Setting:** Early in Vol. 1.

 **Summary:** Bikky is gradually learning what he can and can't get away with.

 **Word Count:** 966

 **Written For:** My own prompt 'FAKE, Bikky  & Ryo, Bikky soon learns that lying to Ryo about having done his homework never works,' at fic_promptly.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.

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Bikky had been living with Ryo for almost a month now, gradually getting a feel for what his new guardian would allow and what he wouldn't stand for. Ryo was a lot stricter than Bikky was used too, and yet he took time to explain the reasons for his rules and so far, nothing he'd insisted on had really seemed that unfair.

Yes, Bikky was expected to go to school on week days and come straight home after unless other arrangements had been made, or unless he had basketball practice or some other after school activity, but that was working out okay so far.

Junk food was mostly off the menu, except for occasional treats, and veggies were part of every meal, which had taken some getting used to, but Ryo had explained about vitamins and nutrition, and making sure his body got all the things it needed to grow strong if he was serious about becoming a professional basketball player. One thing Ryo never did was make fun of Bikky's hopes and dreams; instead he encouraged him to work towards the career he wanted.

Then there was homework, which had to be done after school, before Bikky was allowed to play with his friends. Of course, Ryo was often still at work when Bikky got home from school, so sometimes if he knew his foster father wouldn't be there, he'd spend an hour with his friends before opening his school books, which meant he'd still be working when Ryo got back, but that seemed to be acceptable, as long as everything got done.

One day though, some of Bikky's friends said they were going rollerblading, and was Bikky coming too?

"I'll see if I can, but I don't know. I've got homework."

"So have we, but it'll keep. Your new dad's really strict, sounds like he doesn't let you have any fun!" one of the older kids said.

"He's not my dad," Bikky denied. "He's just my guardian, and I'll be there soon as I've got fetched my blades." With that, he ran towards home, but unfortunately for Bikky, for once Ryo was home early.

"Hey, Biks," he greeted as the boy burst through the door. "Did you have a good day?"

"It was okay I guess." Bikky dumped his school bag by the door. "I had a free period this afternoon, and I did my homework then, so I'm going blading with my friends, okay?" He didn't wait for an answer, just dashed to his room to change and get his skates, but when he came out again a few minutes later, Ryo was looking through his schoolbooks.

"Doesn't look done to me, young man. In fact, it doesn't even look like it's been started," he said mildly.

Bikky's heart sank; in his head he could picture his friends having fun without him and laughing because he was stuck at home doing schoolwork. It was so unfair. "You're not my dad! You can't tell me what to do!" he blurted out, suddenly angry,

"No, I'm not." Ryo didn't yell or get mad; instead he spoke quietly. "And I'm not trying to replace your dad, but if you want to stay here with me there are certain rules I expect you to follow, and doing all your homework is one of them. So why did you lie about it when you must have known I'd check?"

Bikky hadn't known; lying had always worked with his real dad. "I didn't think you would; dad never did," he admitted.

"That's probably how you got so behind in school." Ryo crouched down in front of Bikky. "Listen, Bikky, I'm not trying to stop you having fun, I think you know that, but your schoolwork is important. If you don't get your grades up then the school won't let you play basketball. That's the school's rule, not mine."

"I know," Bikky sighed.

"I still want to know why you lied," Ryo said firmly.

"When I said I had to do homework first, the other kids made fun of me. And I really wanted to go with them because I haven't been blading for ages and it's more fun with a group."

"I'm strict, Bikky, not mean and heartless. If you want to do something like this, don't lie to me; ask. You can go this time, as long as you promise to be home by dinnertime and do your homework right after dinner. It'll mean no TV or computer games until all your schoolwork is done though. Understood?"

Bikky could scarcely believe his ears. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Ryo laughed. "Now go if you're going, but I want you home by six-thirty for dinner."

"Yay!" Bikky threw his arms around Ryo's neck and hugged him. "Thanks Ryo, you're the best, and I promise I'll do all my homework later, and I won't even complain. Well, not much." Snatching up his skates, he ran for the door and raced down the stairs.

"What kept you?" the other kids asked.

Bikky rolled his eyes. "Some of us care about our appearance. I had to get changed; I got sauce down my t-shirt at lunch. Now are we going blading or what?" and he set off towards the park with the others trailing behind him.

He never tried to lie to Ryo about homework again. If he wanted to do something else first, he asked; sometimes Ryo said okay, and sometimes he said no, but if he did there was always a good reason, even if Bikky didn't appreciate it at the time and complained that it wasn't fair. He supposed it was all part of growing up.

Still, despite all the rules about homework and bedtime and cleaning up after himself, Bikky decided that as dads went, he'd got pretty lucky with Ryo.

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The End


End file.
